


Kakashi's Proposal - Sequel to Kakashi's Bet

by Dextrousleftie



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adoption, Anal Sex, Angst, Engagement, Fluff, Love, Lust, M/M, Oral Sex, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-01 18:04:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6530386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dextrousleftie/pseuds/Dextrousleftie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kakashi proposes to Iruka, but things don't go quite as they planned...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue: Running, running, running. Her breath panted desperately in her throat, and she clutched tightly at her husband’s hand. Her other hand held onto her tiny son, and she moaned as another pain shot through her belly. :Please, oh, please, don’t come yet!: she pleaded silently to the baby inside of her. :Wait just a little while longer!: “This way!” her husband cried. “Over here! We’re almost there!” She gasped in relief at these words. Soon they’d be safe…

 

But as they ran through the woods toward the road just becoming visible beyond, her husband suddenly cried out and jerked. To her horror she saw that half-a-dozen kunai now bristled from his back. He stumbled and fell to his knees, nearly taking her with him. 

 

Her son cried out: “Daddy!” in a high, shrill voice full of terror. 

 

His head lifted. There was a rill of blood at his mouth. “Go,” he told her weakly. “Please go. Get to safety. It…the village is over there…” he lifted a shaking finger to point in the direction she needed to go in. 

 

“Oh, no!” she cried. “Please!” 

 

“Do…it….” he begged her. “Go…save…the children….” 

 

Then he was falling, falling, his body hitting the ground and lying so very, very still… She cried out in agony both emotional and physical. Her belly rippled with a contraction as she pulled her small son away from his father’s body. “Daddy!” he screamed. “No, no!” he fought her, wanting to go back, but a mother’s feelings gave her the strength to tow him away from the body of his other parent and out onto the road. 

 

Her legs were trembling now. Exquisite agony coiled in her belly. The baby was coming no matter how hard she fought against it. She set her eyes blindly on the tall gates in front of them, her breath sobbing out between locked teeth as she forced herself to go on, and on, and on…then they were passing through the gates, and two startled gate guards were rising from their post at the sight of her. “Please,” she whimpered. “Please, help us…” 

 

One of them, a man with spiky black hair and a bandage across his face, hurried over to her with a distressed cry. “Ma’am? Are you okay?” he asked in a voice that sounded kind. 

 

She fell to her knees, her son’s hand leaving hers. Both of her hands clutched at her belly. “Oh, Gods!” she screamed, for the pain was too much now. 

 

“Momma!” she heard her son cry, but she had no breath left to answer him. And what could she say anyway? There were no reassurances to be had here. None at all. 

 

“Holy…she’s bleeding, Kotetsu!” she heard the other guard cry as he came up in front of her. She looked down. Blood was puddling on the ground in a thick pool. She wondered dimly if she’d been hurt in that attack, but then she realized that the blood was running down her thighs. She was hemorrhaging. “My baby,” she gasped in despair. “Oh, Gods, my baby…” then she was falling, falling into darkness and into the arms of the gate guard both, and the last sound that she heard was the agonized scream of her little son calling for his mother… 

 

Tsunade ran down the hallway toward the exam room. “What happened? Tell me what you know.” 

 

This command made the man with the fall of soft brown hair over one eye running beside her jump. “We back-tracked her and discovered the body of a man. Her husband, we think. He was dead from a dozen kunai in his back.”

 

“So he was killed by ninjas,” the Fifth Hokage noted grimly. 

 

“Yes. They were long gone by the time we found her husband’s body. The boy’s in shock; we can’t get him to say anything except that he wants his momma,” the sadness in Izumo’s voice made her brows draw down. 

 

“Did you find anything on the body? Or on her?” 

 

“No, nothing. No i.d., no papers, no purse. I believe that the body was thoroughly searched, and that they found what they were looking for before they departed. They didn’t seem to care much about the woman or the kid – most likely she doesn’t know anything.” Izumo remarked.

 

They arrived at the exam room. “I’ll do what I can for her, but according to Shizune she’s lost too much blood. We have to get the baby out of her before it’s too late,” the greatest medical ninja in the history of Konoha said to him. “Continue your search. Back-track those ninja if you can.” She added, before pushing through the doors. 

 

Izumo nodded and darted off. Tsunade approached the table the unconscious woman was lying on. The mound of her belly was huge, and her skin was as pale as milk. They didn’t have much time – because she didn’t have much time left, either. Shizune looked up at her from her position on the other side of the pregnant woman. “We’re ready for you to perform the c-section,” her assistant said. “We’re worried about the baby – the heartbeat isn’t steady.”

 

“Then let’s get to it,” Tsunade replied grimly as she pulled on a pair of gloves. “Scalpel,” she added, and one was slapped into her hand. 

 

The c-section didn’t take long, not with her skilled hands performing it. They didn’t even need to sedate the mother – she was too far gone. The baby’s pulse continued to falter and slow. ‘Hold on, little one,’ the Hokage thought at it. ‘Just a little bit more’. 

 

Finally, she and Shizune pulled back the muscles of the abdomen and Tsunade carefully cut into the womb. Soon her assistant was pulling the  
baby free – and the reason for its slowing heartbeat was revealed. The birth cord was wrapped around the child’s neck, and the tiny creature was turning blue. The blonde woman quickly cut the cord, easing it away from the baby’s neck. But it wasn’t breathing, and Tsunade’s mouth became a grim slash as she sent her healing powers into the tiny form. ‘Come on, come on,’ she silently urged it.

 

Finished! She took the baby from Shizune, turned it around, and struck the child sharply in the middle of the back. The body jerked, then the tiny creature let out a feeble, miserable wail. Her assistant was grinning like a loon, the Hokage noted. She was afraid that she had a similar expression on her own face. “Here,” she thrust the baby at Shizune. “Get her cleaned up and warm.” 

 

She turned back to the mother, but instantly saw that it was too late. The woman was dead. Sadness crossed her face as she took off the gloves and walked out of the exam room. Out in the hallway, she heard a loud cry. It rose over all of the other sounds in the hospital, and an irritated expression ran over the blonde’s face as she made her way toward it. Who was yelling like that in this hospital! You’d think they’d know better! 

 

But when she rounded a corner and saw what was going on, that expression vanished. Two nurses were with a small boy, a child who was pleading and crying and squirming. “I want my momma!” he screamed. “I want my momma!” 

 

‘Poor little mite’ Tsunade thought in compassion. ‘Your momma can’t come to you now.’ She sighed. Until they learned of his origins and whether he had any family that could take him, the boy and his newborn sister would have to go to the Konoha Orphanage. It wasn’t a bad place, but this shell-shocked creature wasn’t going to be happy there. Still, there was nothing else to be done. There was no one to take in an extra child in Konoha, because they’d lost so many ninja in Orochimaru’s attack five months ago. Let alone two, one of them a sickly newborn. 

 

She shook her head as she skirted the little tableau. She wasn’t exactly the motherly type, and she had no idea how to comfort a boy whose entire life had just irrevocably been shattered. All she could do was look into finding vengeance for his parents, and hope that the knowledge that she had done so would help him at some later date. 

 

 

Umino Iruka lay atop his lover’s naked body, smiling rather dreamily down into Hatake Kakashi’s eyes. The two men were sharing a peaceful interlude between bouts of sex, taking advantage of the time that Tsunade had given them off. It was startling that the Hokage would be able to spare two badly-needed ninja right at the moment, but these were special circumstances. In point of fact, it was the blonde’s gift to the two men to celebrate their upcoming nuptials. Iruka still couldn’t quite believe it. His eyes strayed away from his lover’s(no fiancé’s, he reminded himself) to look at the ring encircling his finger. Kakashi had presented it to him a week ago, much to his utter shock. 

 

He’d walked into their apartment thinking that he wouldn’t even be seeing his lover, since both of them were working almost non-stop on missions lately. But Kakashi had appeared from the bedroom, much to his joy. And then had come the shocking part, as the grey-haired Jounin had gotten down on one knee and had extended a white box out toward him. The teacher had felt the breath leave his body in a rush as those parti-colored eyes had looked deep into his. “Umino Iruka,” Kakashi had said, “I’m glad that you’re home – and that’s something that I’d like to say for the rest of my natural life. So – would you marry me?” 

 

Iruka had felt his legs giving out, and he’d nearly fallen over. His eyes had been wide, and he’d simply stared at the tableau of his lover kneeling in front of him to propose for a long time. “Kashi,” he’d breathed when he could speak again. “I-I…”

 

“When you get the ability to speak back again,” Kakashi had said with an amused gleam in his eyes. “I’m hoping that you’ll say yes.”

 

Iruka had felt rather indignant over his lover getting amusement out of his natural shock, and had glared at Kakashi a little. The Jounin had looked even more amused, for he loved it when his Iruka looked like a pheasant with its feathers ruffled. This usually happened when the teacher was angry or miffed at him – which meant that he saw this expression a lot. Iruka had just KNOWN that the grey-haired bastard was laughing at him behind that damn mask. “I don’t know why,” he’d huffed, folding his arms over his chest and lifting his nose in the air, “But I really do love you, Kakashi. So, yes, I’ll marry you, but I should probably get my head examined.”

 

The Jounin had whooped in glee then, and had enfolded him in a tight hug before he could protest. And then his lover(now fiancé) was pulling down his mask and kissing Iruka ferociously, and the teacher had forgotten his ire completely. He’d dragged Iruka off to their bedroom, and it was a long time before either of them remembered the ring. 

 

When he’d finally presented it belatedly to Iruka, the teacher had simply stared at it for a long time. The ring was silver, with a red Konoha leaf design done in enamel in the center of the flat disk. It was surrounded by a cluster of ebony chips and a ring of tiny diamonds, and was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. He’d wept when Kakashi had slipped it onto his finger. Then the Jounin had proceeded to kiss the tears off of his flushed cheeks(which had led to the inevitable).

 

When they’d told their good news to the Hokage, she’d insisted on giving them both two weeks off to get married and have a short honeymoon before returning to work. Iruka was grateful to her, because they’d been running so much for the last five months that he and Kakashi hadn’t gotten to see as much of each other as he would have liked. The grey-haired man had noted wryly one night that they’d picked the absolute worst time to become lovers, and Iruka had had to agree with him. They’d both been exhausted, lying in their bed without the energy to have sex or even cuddle, so tired from using their chakra on dangerous missions that they could barely even move. 

 

They’d had a little less than a month of bliss, and then Orochimaru and his Song ninjas had attacked the village in cahoots with Sand. After that there was no time for anything anymore. Not even sleep or eating sometimes. Now there was this wonderful little interlude for them to reconnect(both literally and figuratively). They would get married in a simple ceremony in the temple in less than a week, then spend their honeymoon at a hot springs resort nearby. After that it would be back to work, but they’d be refreshed and invigorated. Also married.

 

He felt bemused when he thought of this, but also extremely happy. He smiled at this thought, and Kakashi said: “What are you thinking about, Ruka?” 

 

“I’m thinking about how happy I am.” The teacher replied simply.

 

The grey-haired Jounin looked pleased. “I’m glad,” he replied. “Truthfully, I wasn’t sure that you’d say ‘yes’, since I know I drive you crazy. But if you remember, I warned you that I would…” 

 

“Yes, I was prepared,” Iruka replied in amusement. He sketched Kakashi’s pectoral muscle with his fingers, causing the other man to draw in a deep breath. “But I can handle that kind of crazy.” 

 

He lightly pinched one of Kakashi’s nipples with his fingertips, and the grey-haired man made a small sound in the back of his throat. “Tease,” he growled, pulling Iruka down for a deep, tonguing kiss. Iruka emerged out of this embrace breathless and tousled. His soft dark eyes smiled down into Kakashi’s.

 

The Jounin reflected to himself that while this had been a hectic five months, and in some ways a bad five months, they had also been the best five months of his entire life. It stole his breath to think that this very special man loved him, wanted him, had agreed to marry him…Kakashi knew that he could be a pain-in-the-ass. A major one at times. But Iruka adored him in spite of that fact, and he felt like the luckiest man in Konoha right now. He got to be Umino Iruka’s husband. It seemed an impossible thing, but he was going to get down on his knees and thank every God who would listen for the rest of his life that it was true, nonetheless….

 

Just as Kakashi and Iruka were kissing and starting a mutual exploration of each others’ parts, someone rapped at their front door. The grey-haired Jounin groaned as Iruka lifted his head. They heard Kotetsu’s familiar voice call loudly through the wood: “Hey, Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei! I hate to interrupt, but Tsunade-sama wants you in her office immediately. Sorry.”

 

Kakashi grimaced as Iruka slowly sat up. Damn it! This had just been getting interesting. Besides, they had two weeks off. What was so important that the Hokage was calling them to her office when she’d promised them this time together? He sighed, as his fiancé slid off the bed and started toward the clothing neatly folded on a chair. His eyes admired the naked back view that would soon be hidden from him in those concealing garments. It just wasn’t fair.

 

He groaned as he rolled off the bed and went to gather his own clothing from where he’d tossed it over the back of the same chair. He pinched Iruka’s ass lightly as he passed, making the teacher jump and yelp a bit. He got a blast of warm brown for this bit of impudence, and he grinned as he pulled on his pants. Iruka rolled his eyes and went on getting dressed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi goes on a mission while Iruka comforts an orphan.

They both got dressed quickly and hurried to the Hokage’s office. Both were aware that Tsunade wouldn’t have summoned them unless it was urgent, since she’d promised them these two weeks off. If she were breaking her promise, it had to be something important to make her do so. They arrived together, and Iruka knocked politely on one of the doors before they pushed through them.

 

The blonde woman sitting behind the desk looked up as they entered, and waved a hand to bring them closer. “Good afternoon, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei,” she said. “I’m really sorry to call you both here, because I promised you two weeks off for your wedding and honeymoon. But something happened yesterday that I really need both of you to help me with. I don’t know if you heard, but there was a family traveling to Konoha who were attacked just outside our gates. The father was killed outright by ninja, and the mother died in childbirth. I did an emergency c-section on her, and her daughter lived. But I now have two orphans on my hands, one a newborn, and I have no idea where the family came from or whether there are relatives who might take them off our hands.” 

 

A look of concern and sadness flashed over Iruka’s face. “What can we do to help, Tsunade-sama?” he asked quietly. 

 

Her brown eyes came to rest on his face. “I’d like Kakashi to take his ninja dogs and back-track them. I want to know where they came from, who the ninjas who killed the man were, and why they were fleeing wherever they came from in the first place. I’d also like to know what it was the ninjas were trying to retrieve, since they took every scrap of paper off of his body before they left. Moreover, I need to know if they had any relatives who would be willing to raise these children. Our orphanage is overburdened as it is. And while he’s doing that, Iruka-sensei, I’d like you to go to the orphanage and talk to the boy. He was traumatized by what happened, understandably, and since he stopped crying for his mother he hasn’t said a word. I’d like you to try to find out what his family name is, and if he can tell you where they came from. I thought that you of all people,” she went on more gently, “Would best understand a boy who’s lost both of his parents in one day.” 

 

He flinched at her words, and Kakashi’s hand came to rest comfortingly on his shoulder. Iruka reached up to twine his fingers with the grey-haired man’s as he replied steadily: “Of course Tsunade-sama. I’ll do my best to get him to speak to me.”

 

“I know you will,” the Hokage replied in satisfaction. “As I said, I’m sorry to disturb your time off like this. But I…” her brows knit as anger flashed over her face. “Am not happy about the fact that those people were seeking refuge here in Konoha, and that someone killed the man right outside our gates. Moreover, if she hadn’t been running and under such stress, the woman would most likely have lived to hold her baby. Now that little boy has no one except a newborn sister, no parents or family to take care of him. I want to know why they died, why those children were orphaned…and who to punish for this heinous act.”

 

The rage gleaming in her eyes impressed both men. “I’ll leave right away,” Kakashi said. “I’ll be as quick as I can.” 

 

“Thank you, Kakashi,” Tsunade replied. “I appreciate it – and I’ll make sure that you both get a few more days off to make up for this.” 

 

“Thanks, we appreciate that,” the grey-haired Jounin said before he turned to Iruka. “I’ll see you in a few days, Ruka. Good luck with the boy.” 

 

Iruka squeezed his hands. “Be careful, Kashi,” he said softly. “I want you back here intact for our wedding.

 

Kakashi nodded, and then was gone in a blur of movement out of the office. Iruka sighed. ”I’ll go to the orphanage right away,” he said, turning to the Hokage. “But I can’t promise anything, Tsunade-sama…” 

 

She nodded. “I know that. The boy’s gone through a lot – I can understand it if he won’t talk to you. Just give it your best shot, Iruka-sensei.”

 

“I will,” he left her office, closing the doors behind him. 

 

His dark brown eyes were sad as he turned away to walk down the hall. Yes, he knew what it was like to lose both of your parents in one day. Moreover, he knew exactly what it was like to see your parents die right before your eyes. His mind went back to that day, and the terrible nine-tailed fox demon ravaging the village. He could remember clearly everything that had happened – the smells, sights, sounds…they’d died heroes, protecting the village, but his parents had still died. He’d been left alone, and his grief had been so intense that for awhile he’d thought that he would drown in it. He hoped that he could help to alleviate this boy’s grief even a little bit. He’d try his best, anyway. 

 

 

The Konoha Orphanage was a large, three-story building with a huge yard for the children to play in. Most of them were doing just that, their gleeful cries ringing out as Iruka walked through the gates. Balls were being thrown, pebbles tossed in a game very like jacks, and a swing strung in a tree was being used with great enthusiasm. A few of the orphans who were his students at the Academy called greeting to the teacher as he came in, and he smiled and returned them. 

 

But then his eyes came to rest on a bench at the edge of the playground, and he saw a small figure slumped there in a terrible stillness that told Iruka that this must be the boy who Tsunade wanted him to talk to. The children confirmed this, and he walked slowly toward the bench with his eyes fastened on the poor little boy compassionately. 

 

As he drew nearer, Iruka saw that the boy was only about four or five years old. He had a head of slightly wavy hair so light that it looked platinum. It was impossible to see his face from this angle, since he had his head bent so far down. He walked up to the still figure and stood for a moment, not wanting to intrude on the child’s grief but knowing he had to to carry out Tsunade’s orders. So he cleared his throat a little. 

 

“Hello,” he said to the boy. “May I sit here?” he indicated the bench, which was empty except for the grieving child.

 

Silence. No answer. “If you don’t mind, I’ll sit right here,” Iruka said, carefully seating himself about a half-a-foot away from the boy. Still no reply - and the child didn’t lift his head. Pity washed through the teacher. “They told me that there was a new child here at the orphanage,” Iruka began quietly after a moment of thick silence. “It’s nice to meet you,” he added as though the boy had spoken to him. “My name is  
Umino Iruka, and I’m a teacher.” 

 

This got a little bit of response, a flash of big eyes in a pale pointed face. Then the boy looked back down at the ground. “I teach at the Academy,” Iruka went on. “Instructing children on how to be ninja.”

 

Another, stronger, response. The boy flinched at the mention of the word ‘ninja’. Iruka remembered that it had been ninja who had killed the boy’s father. But before he could think about what else to say, a matron came out of the front doors cradling a crying baby. Iruka looked over and saw that the woman was soothing the tiny bundle, and a bottle was accepted after a moment. He remembered that this boy’s mother had died in childbirth – so this must be his new sister. “Is that your sister?” he said aloud, still looking at the matron and the baby. “I heard that she was born yesterday. That makes you a big brother, eh?”

 

Silence. Then a low voice growled hoarsely: “She’s not my sister!” 

 

Iruka turned his head and saw a flashing pair of angry eyes, which were an incredible mixture of leaf-green and gold. 

 

“She’s not?” The teacher replied casually. “Then there’s another newborn here at the orphanage?”

 

“No” the boy’s head turned away, and his shoulders were stiff with rage. “But she’s not my sister. She killed my mother!” he hissed, the fury in his voice covering total grief and despair. 

 

“How did she kill your mother?” Iruka asked, wishing he could hug or even touch the poor creature. But he knew he couldn’t, not yet. Not until the boy sought for affection or touch on his own. 

 

“Momma died when she came out,” the boy said, his voice choked with grief. 

 

Iruka said slowly: “Yes, I suppose that’s right. But your sister didn’t mean to kill your mother; there were just complications with the birth. It happens sometimes, especially when the mother is under stress. Your momma was afraid, wasn’t she? And sad about your father? That was what probably caused it more than anything else. You shouldn’t blame your sister for your mother dying – if anyone is to blame, it’s the people who were chasing you.” 

 

A startled flash of those eyes again. Iruka smiled as gently as he could at the boy, who was now staring at him. That was a good sign. “And big brothers should always take care of their little sisters,” the teacher added. “She’ll need you to be there for her and to protect her. Don’t you think that’s what your parents would have wanted you to do?”

 

The boy’s face pinched at his words as he struggled not to cry. But a few tears trickled down his face anyway, and he knuckled at them with one hand. “Daddy said that I should take care of her,” he whispered, “When she came out of Momma’s belly…” 

 

Iruka nodded. “Does she have a name?” he asked.

 

The boy sniffed. “Momma said that they were gonna call her Amai,” he said.

 

“Amai…that’s a good name. I’m sure that she’s very sweet,” the teacher replied softly.   
“Have you looked at her yet?” he went on.

 

The boy hesitated, and then shook his head slowly. Iruka stood up. “I’m going to go and see her. If you want to come with me you can,” he said to the boy.

 

A hesitation, then the child slowly stood up from the bench. He walked beside the teacher as they made their way over to the matron. The woman glanced at them, and then smiled when she saw Iruka. “Ah, Iruka-sensei! How good it is to see you.” 

 

He smiled at her in return. “Hello, Miss Harasi. Is that the baby that was born yesterday?” he asked, indicating the child in her hands. 

 

“Yes, it is. She’s such a darling little thing. Did you want to see her?” 

 

“Yes, if we could. This is her big brother,” he added, nodding toward the boy standing silently at his side.

 

“Oh, yes. Here you are then – this is your sister,” the matron said, bending a little and holding the baby out to the boy. He stared at the small face, and at a pair of large, vague, dark-blue eyes as she blinked at him. A tiny starfish hand waved in the air. Fascination flashed over the boy’s face, and he reached out to lightly touch that small hand. Instantly tiny fingers curled over his as though the baby knew who he was. The boy seemed to almost be holding his breath. Iruka knew he was holding his own as he watched this tableau.

 

“Did you want to tell Miss Harasi what your sister’s name is?” he asked very softly, not wanting to break the mood.

 

The child looked up at the matron, and then said: “Her name is Amai.” 

 

“Amai? Oh, how wonderful! It’s the perfect name for her,” the woman enthused. Then she went on: “And what’s your name? What will she call you when she can talk?” 

 

This was the perfect question, and Iruka was grateful to her as the boy replied: “My name’s Kei,” he told them. 

 

The matron gave him an approving look. “Another good name. You’ll be a strong big brother for this little one, won’t you? Ah, I should take her inside and put her down in her cradle. I think she’s getting tired.”

 

And, indeed, the baby was yawning and falling asleep as they watched. The matron bustled away to put the baby down, and Iruka looked at the boy. “It’s nice to meet you, Kei,” he said gravely. “Do you think that we could talk a bit more? I know how you feel,” he said as the boy cast him a way glance.

 

Kei’s face twisted in anger. “How can you know how I feel?” he demanded. 

 

Iruka spread his hands slightly. “I know because my parents both died on the same day, when I was a boy only a few years older than you,” he explained. 

 

Kei looked startled. “How did they die?” he asked. 

 

“Let’s sit back down and I’ll tell you,” the teacher led the way back to the bench. Once they were seated, he began to tell Kei about the nine-tailed fox demon that had attacked Konoha. He explained how he’d seen the terrible battle that had taken place, and moreover had witnessed the deaths of his parents as they struggled to fight the monster. He told how many ninja had died valiantly that day, including the Fourth Hokage, who’d finally defeated the demon. He didn’t explain how the Fourth had done that, by sealing the creature inside of the tiny body of his son Naruto; he simply said that the Fourth had died as well to defeat the angry creature that would have killed everyone in the village.

 

Kei listened solemnly to this recital, and when the teacher was done speaking he looked up into Iruka’s face. “It hurts,” he said softly, putting a hand on his chest over his heart. “It hurts bad. I want my Momma. I want my Daddy.” 

 

His face began to slowly crumple as Iruka reached out to finally pull him close. He cradled the back of the boy’s head as the child began to sob pitifully. The teacher rocked the small boy as Kei wept for his terrible loss, crooning over and over again: “I know, Kei. I know.” 

 

It took a long time for him to cry himself out. Iruka patiently held him, whispering words of comfort, knowing that this was what the boy needed the most. To let out some of the grief he’d been holding inside of him. He himself hadn’t cried for months after his parents had died; he’d tried to remain strong because he knew that they had died heroes, and he thought that it was selfish to mourn them too deeply. But the Third had set him straight one day as he’d been standing by the memorial stone looking at their names. While crying had given him a headache, it had eased some of his constant heartache. He knew that Kei would have a lot more crying ahead of him in the coming months, but this was a start.

 

Finally, the boy was limp, a wrung out mass being held in the teacher’s gentle hands. “It isn’t wrong to cry, Kei,” Iruka told him as he set the boy a little away so that he could wipe Kei’s face with a handkerchief. “It’s good to mourn for those we’ve lost. It means that they’re not forgotten. Your parents loved you, and the best thing you can do for them now is to never forget them.” 

 

The boy stared up at him out of red rimmed eyes. “Did you ever stop crying?” he asked hoarsely. 

 

The teacher nodded. “Over time, the hurt will ease. It never truly goes away, but as the years pass it becomes a distant ache rather than the sharp pain it is for you now. Eventually you’ll remember all of the good things about your parents, rather than the fact that they died. Then you can tell your sister about them – because she’ll want to know. She’ll never get to meet them, after all,” he went on sadly. 

 

Kei blinked, and then his chin firmed up. “I’ll tell her,” he said. “I’ll make sure she knows all about Momma and Daddy.”

 

Iruka smiled at him. “I know you will, Kei,” he replied. “Because that’s what a good big brother would do – and something tells me that you’ll be a very good one.”

 

The boy hesitated, and then began: “Umino-san?”

 

“Call me Iruka-sensei,” he said gently, “It’s what all my students call me.”

 

“Iruka-sensei. How can you - teach kids to be ninjas? Ninjas are evil!” he cried. “They killed my Daddy.”

 

Iruka sighed. “Not all ninjas are evil, Kei. The ninjas of Konoha work to protect and support the village no matter what. That’s why we hone our skills, not to kill or hurt people. Sometimes we end up doing that, of course, but never innocent people like your parents. We try to only fight those who attack us, and that kind of person is generally another ninja who’s out to hurt or kill us if they can. There are evil ninjas, of course, rogues who’ve left their village and go out to do bad things in the world. But we imprison or kill those kinds of ninjas when we can, so that they can’t hurt other people who don’t deserve it. Your father may have been killed by rogue ninja hired by bad men. Do you know why you were all coming to Konoha, Kei? Who were your parents running from?” 

 

“I don’t know,” the boy replied. “But Daddy was scared, and he talked to Momma one day when he came home and she got scared too. She cried. Then we had to pack our stuff and run away. Daddy said we’d be safe if we could get to Konoha, that he could hire some ninja to protect us from some bad people.” 

 

“I see. Your father came home scared from work one day?”

 

The boy nodded. “Uh huh. He said to Momma that the Lord had done somethin’ bad, and that he knew about it so we had to leave our house and come here.” 

 

Iruka felt a chill at these words. “The Lord? Which Lord, Kei?” 

 

But the boy didn’t know. Clearly he was too young to realize the significance of what he’d overheard. He talked to the child for awhile longer, but only managed to get their family name from Kei. Finally, he gave the boy a last hug and reluctantly left to go and report what he’d learned to Tsunade. The boy clung to him, and the woe in the big green-gold eyes as Iruka walked out the gates haunted the teacher as he made his way to the Hokage’s office.

 

 

 

Kakashi knelt in some long grass and tried to wait patiently. After a short time a pug wearing a Konoha forehead protector appeared before him. “This is the place,” the beast rumbled, waving a paw at the castle behind him. "They definitely came from here.” 

 

Kakashi nodded. “Good work, Pakkun. Whose castle is this?”

 

“It belongs to a Lord Hakan, the second most powerful lord in the Grass Country. He happens to be a good friend of the Daimyo, and is considered to be a trustworthy and honorable man,” the dog’s voice was dry, indicating that he seldom trusted such reputations. 

 

Kakashi laughed softly. “I very much doubt that he lives up to his reputation, since those people fled from here to Konoha for protection. Moreover, the father’s body was stripped of all the papers he was carrying by the ninja who killed him. I need to get inside and do some reconnaissance, talk to some people. I’m going to go acquire some clothes so that I blend in, you guys wait here, Pakkun,” his hand indicated the other waiting ninja dogs. 

 

The pug snorted. “We’ll be here when you get back,” he said. The grey-haired man nodded and disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi does some digging, while Iruka gets to know Kei better.

A while later, a priest walked into the open gates of the castle. He wore a wide-brimmed straw hat, a long tan robe, and he carried a staff with rings set in the top. They jingled as he shuffled along, his head bent. The hat concealed part of his face, and a ragged scarf hid even more of it. He went toward the kitchen to beg alms, followed by a ratty-looking pug dog (minus his forehead protector and plus a generous coating of road dust).

 

The buxom, round-faced cook was a friendly creature, and the priest managed to not only get a free meal out of her, but also all of the castle gossip as well. Even his little dog got a bone, and the animal lay at his feet gnawing at it contentedly while he alternately ate(somehow without removing either the hat or the scarf) and talked with her as she bustled about getting her kitchen workers started on the next meal. 

 

Yes, she told the friendly priest, the castle was in a bit of a furor because one of His Lordship’s most dependable underlings and his family had disappeared without a trace. The man had apparently left in the middle of the night a few days ago, with his little son and pregnant wife in tow. Nobody had any idea why he’d gone, or where for that matter. But she refused to believe the rumors that were circulating that the man had stolen a great deal of money, and had then fled because someone had discovered his thievery. He was too kind, too honest, too good a father, husband, and loyal retainer to ever do such a thing. His wife had been a very sweet lady who had just about been about to drop that baby. How far, she wondered, could they have all gotten? 

 

His Lordship was very upset about this whole matter, and his men had been out looking for the man for days. The only thing that made her uneasy were the dangerous-looking people who’d arrived at the castle the day after the family had gone, and who’d left again soon after…she hadn’t liked the look of them at all. The priest listened attentively to this, as did his dog. He exclaimed in all the right places, and the cook sent him on his way again with a packed lunch tied up in a cloth and a wide smile. She’d liked him immensely; he’d been a very good listener. 

 

He waved to her before walking out of the gates, trodding slowly down the road until he was out of sight of the guards. Then the priest disguise was shed, and Kakashi squatted down once more in the grass as he looked at Pakkun. The pug had gotten rid of most of the dust on his coat by a good shaking. He looked disgruntled as he licked his paws. “Well that was an interesting story,” he remarked sardonically.

 

Kakashi snorted. “You can say that again. Clearly Lord Hakan was up to something that he shouldn't have been, and was found out by his loyal retainer. Whatever it was, was so bad that the man had to flee for his life with his family in tow. Even his very pregnant wife who was just about to have a baby. It must have been pretty bad indeed,” he frowned underneath his mask. “There’s no way for us to find out, since the wife is dead as well. We can only presume that those ninja who killed the man got back whatever it was that he had that would implicate Lord Hakan in whatever he was up to. It looks like we’re done here, Pakkun,” he added, because the kindly cook had answered all of his deftly asked questions, including the one about whether the man or his wife had had any extended family. Apparently the wife had been from the Wave Country, and had no immediate family; and the man had been an orphan. So there was no one to take those orphaned children after all.

 

He sighed. “Let’s go,” he said, and both he and the ninja dogs were gone as swiftly as they’d come.

 

 

Iruka was once more sharing a bench outside the Orphanage with Kei. The small boy was talking more today; the teacher had come every day to see him for the last three days, and the child was opening up a bit more every time. Iruka had gently steered him to talk about his family, not just because he wanted to know about them but because he felt it was best if Kei talked about them. The boy needed to get some of his grief out lest it eat him away inside. Kei was also growing closer to his tiny newborn sister, because Iruka insisted on holding her a bit every day. The boy would talk to the baby, and the teacher learned just as much from these one-sided conversations as he did actually talking to Kei himself. 

 

He didn’t feel bad about befriending an orphan; to Iruka it was just like being with Naruto when he was younger. This boy needed a friend, and Iruka was happy to become that for him. Right at the moment, the little blonde child was telling him about his dog. They’d had to leave the animal behind when they’d run away, and he missed the animal almost as much as he did his parents. 

 

Iruka felt very sorry for him. Poor Kei; he’d lost everything he’d ever known all at once. At least he’d only lost his parents; he’d still lived in the village where he was born and had been surrounded by people he’d known all his life. Kei was in a strange place among people he didn’t know. No wonder he clung to Iruka so much – the teacher was a stable rock in a shifting sea of sand for the poor kid.

 

He told Kei in turn about Kakashi’s ninja dogs, and the child was fascinated to learn that Iruka’s fiancé’s summoned animals could talk. Dogs that could talk sounded very cool. The teacher vowed to have Kakashi show the boy those animals, because they’d enjoy having a child pet and dote on them. As though his words had conjured the man, a tall figure with a shock of grey hair strolled through the gates of the Orphanage. 

 

Iruka’s dark eyes lit up at the sight of his fiancé. “Kakashi!” he called, rising to his feet. “When did you get back?”

 

“About an hour ago,” the Jounin replied. “I just finished reporting to Tsunade-sama, and she told me that you were here. You must be Kei,” he added to the small boy who was trying to hide behind the teacher’s legs.

 

“Yes. Kei, this is the man I was just telling you about, the one with the talking dogs. Hatake Kakashi, this is Yamarato Kei,” The blonde peered suspiciously up at the masked ninja. 

 

Kakashi had blinked when Iruka had said that bit about talking dogs, and he wasn’t a man who was slow on the uptake. He knelt down slowly(this had the added advantage that it brought him closer to Kei’s level) and bit his thumb lightly. He began to cast his summoning jutsu, while not only Kei but many of the other orphans watched in fascination. There was a puff of smoke, and Pakkun and his pack of ninja dogs were suddenly sitting in the yard. There were squeals of glee and delight on all sides, and Kei’s big green-gold eyes got even larger as the pug drawled: “What do you want, Kakashi?”

 

“I want you all to meet some children, Pakkun,” the Jounin replied. “They just love dogs, don’t you?” he added to the onlookers.

 

There were many young, high voices raised in agreement, and the dogs began to look rather apprehensive. “They love to be petted,” Kakashi said wickedly, rising to his feet. 

 

The pack of children descended on the animals, which were lost in a forest of petting hands with a last despairing bark. The grey-haired man strolled toward his fiancé, and it was clear that he was grinning demonically behind his mask. “You are terrible, Kashi,” the teacher said severely to him. 

 

“Ah, they like it.” Kakashi replied with a shrug.

 

Iruka sighed, but he knew what his fiancé was like already. He looked down at Kei, who was now staring at the grey-haired ninja with a look of something like wonder on his pointed face. Cleary anyone who could make talking dogs appear was cool in Kei’s book… “Shall we sit back down?” the teacher said quietly, and the three of them sat down on the bench together. 

 

“What did you learn?” Iruka said very softly to Kakashi.

 

“A good bit. I’ll tell you about it later,” the Jounin replied just as softly.

 

Iruka nodded and turned back to Kei. “Kakashi here was out on a mission,” he explained to the fascinated child. “That’s what ninjas do – we go on missions given to us by the leader of our village and a council who determines who would be best for each mission. I sit on that council sometimes, although I’ve been much too busy lately going on my own missions to do so.”

 

“What do you do on missions?” the child asked curiously.

 

“Oh, all kinds of things. We gather information, escort and protect people, take papers from one place to another, you name it. Anything that people will pay us to do actually. Even silly jobs like returning pets and cutting the grass in backyards. Those are called D rank missions, and are usually done by Genins. Genins tend to be young ninjas who’ve just gradated from the Academy, and so aren’t ready for the more dangerous missions.” He smiled gently. “One of my former students, Uzumaki Naruto, HATED doing D rank missions. He complained about them at the top of his lungs all the time. Didn’t he Kakashi? Kakashi is one of Naruto’s instructors now that he’s graduated,” he explained to Kei.

 

Kakashi snorted. “Naruto is a demanding pup, that’s for sure. He was always sure that he could do anything, so why should he be stuck doing boring tasks? But he’s come a long way, just the same,” he added in satisfaction.

 

“What’s it like being a ninja?” Kei asked, and Iruka was happy that the boy was showing more signs of being interested in ninjas rather than being frightened of them. 

 

Kakashi replied drolly: “Boring, dangerous, and irritating in turns.”

 

Iruka jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow, making him grunt. “Please don’t listen to him, Kei,” he told the boy. “Kakashi loves to make jokes. It can be dull sometimes to go on missions, but mostly it’s exciting. And we get to go to many other countries and meet new people. That’s what I like about it.”

 

Kei rubbed at his nose with a finger, leaving a streak of dirt there. “Can I be a ninja?” he asked.

 

Iruka nodded. “Yes, when you’re older. You have to go to the Academy first and graduate from there.” 

 

“Would you be my teacher?” the boy asked eagerly. 

 

“Not at first. I teach the higher-level classes, the students who eventually graduate from the Academy. But you’d get to see me around the school all the time anyway,” he added hurriedly as the blonde boy’s face fell. “At recess and in the cafeteria.”

 

Kei looked happier about this thought, perking up a little. Iruka reached out and gently smoothed his hair, a gesture that the child allowed. Kakashi watched his fiancé with the orphan thoughtfully. While Iruka was good with children, and almost all of them liked him in return, he and this boy had some sort of special bond. He understood it, of course; it was the same bond that the teacher still shared with Naruto. Iruka’s kind heart was drawn to the lonely, the unhappy, the outcasts and the unwanted ones. The Jounin was thinking hard, the tell-tale signs of this being only a certain droopiness to his visible eyelid. But he said nothing, seemingly watching the children still gleefully glomping on the poor ninja dogs.

 

“Ah, here comes Miss Harashi with your sister,” Iruka remarked. 

 

Kakashi came out of his fugue and looked over to see an aproned matron carrying a cloth-wrapped bundle in her arms. The woman bustled over to them. “Good afternoon, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei,” she greeted them both. “Here’s the little one. Who wants to hold her?” She looked from the Jounin to the teacher expectantly.

 

Iruka felt a great urge to giggle. “I’ll take her, Miss Harashi. I’m sure that Kakashi doesn’t want to hold a baby.” 

 

The grey-haired man contrived to look offended. “Who says I don’t? Give her to me,” he held out his arms to the matron as his fiancé gaped at him. Miss Harashi carefully passed the baby to Kakashi. To Iruka’s shock, the Jounin cradled the baby expertly in his arms, and pushed the cloth carefully away from her face so that he could see the big eyes staring up at him. “Hey, little miss,” he said to her. “My Ruka thinks I don’t know anything about babies. Isn’t he silly?”

 

Amai’s mouth opened and closed in a sucking gesture as Kakashi’s eye crinkled up at the corner as he made a cooing noise at her. The teacher felt like he’d been hit on the forehead with a hammer. Never in a million years would he have suspected that the great Copy Ninja would willingly hold a baby, let alone make noises at her and chuck her chin with his fingers. 

 

Kei had gotten up and come around to look at his sister. The boy made faces at the baby, sticking his tongue out at her. Kakashi chuckled. “I think she liked that,” he said to Kei. And indeed Amai was making little bird-like noises, and waving her tiny fists in the air. The boy began to prattle on to Kakashi about the baby, and Iruka smiled benevolently at them. He was glad that his fiancé was getting along with Kei, since he intended to come here every day for as long as the boy needed him. It would be nice if he could bring Kakashi along with him when he came.

 

Kakashi and Iruka finally left the Orphanage together, because it was close to the children’s dinnertime. Kei stood at the gate and waved at both men, who did the same back at him. The teacher sighed sadly as they turned away to go home together. Kakashi glanced at him. Iruka only shrugged a bit. “I can’t help it,” he said softly. “He’s such a nice boy. It’s so terrible what’s happened to him….” 

 

The grey-haired Jounin nodded in agreement. “But he at least has his sister to look after,” he noted. “You didn’t have anybody, Ruka.”

 

“I had everybody in the village, including my friends. I’m not like poor Kei – or Naruto, for that matter. I wasn’t so bad off.”

 

He was surprised when Kakashi laughed and shook his head. “What?” he asked, glancing at his fiancé in puzzlement. 

 

A hand curled into his possessively. Long fingers caressed over his own. “You are amazing, my Ruka. You are so tender-hearted and empathetic about those in pain or in need – especially children. But you don’t ever want anyone to feel sorry for you, even though you had something terrible happen to you when you were pretty young. That’s a trait that you and Naruto share. He doesn’t want people to pity him either. Not that I can blame either of you – you’ve both done well for yourselves in spite of the tragedies that you’ve each endured, so who would want pity for that? One day Kei will be the same way, you can bet on it.”

 

Iruka looked a little flustered to be spoken of in an admiring tone of voice. Kakashi grinned behind his mask. He was still working on Iruka’s self-esteem – the teacher had been startled that ‘someone like him’ had wanted Iruka when they’d initially gotten together. That had annoyed him. As if he was so much better than his sweet Iruka. The man was intelligent, cute, gentle, sweet, and kind. All traits that he liked and admired. He felt privileged to be the man’s fiancé. He was so lucky! And he didn’t even deserve it, really. But he was just glad that he had it in spite of that fact. And he was never going to give it up, no matter what. Kakashi was pretty smart – almost as smart as Shikamaru. Certainly smart enough to know when he had a good thing going…


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sexy time, a wedding, and a proposal...

He stepped closer to the teacher and lowered his voice. “Ruka, I’ve been gone for three days. Did you miss me?” his voice had gone low and sultry, and Iruka visibly shivered and swallowed.

 

Oh, there came that rush of color into the brown cheeks. How adorable his cute little pheasant was! And that voice, breathy and wavering: “Kakashi,” it moaned, and that was it. 

 

He grabbed the teacher’s hand and moved them both to the door of their apartment, unable to wait any longer. He needed Iruka, needed to be buried deep in that sweet tight ass, needed to hear those moans and cries as he pleasured the other man into a state of catatonia. He waited impatiently while Iruka fumbled with the key to the door, and when it was finally open he made a sound of relief and dragged the teacher into the apartment by the hand. He made determinedly for their bedroom, intent on stripping Iruka as swiftly as possible so that he could take his time after that and feast on every part of that sweet body that he adored. 

 

Clothes flew everywhere as Kakashi practically ripped the uniform off of Iruka. The teacher had become bold enough about their sex life to return the favor, his fingers fumbling as the Jounin’s hand closed over his crotch briefly ands rubbed at his erection in a teasing manner. He moaned, yanking the shirt off of Kakashi’s body (and tearing it in the process). Finally they were both naked, and Kashi pushed his fiancé backward onto the bed. He descended upon his sweet Iruka, and the teacher cried out as that now naked mouth began to lick and suck and bite at his skin. His hands moved over Kakashi’s leanly powerful body in return, finding all of those sensitive spots that he’d discovered over the last six months.

 

They both groaned almost in tandem, the Jounin against a budded brown nipple that he’d been nibbling on. Iruka’s fingers were rubbing insistently at the tender skin just behind his balls, and his hips bucked a little under this treatment. He bit at the nub in his mouth at the same time, and the teacher cried out in pleasure and very slight pain under him. “Kashi,” he gasped. “Gods!”

 

The grey-haired man felt like his head was going to explode. He growled softly and maneuvered himself and the teacher so that they were lying head-to-tail on the bed. Knowing what he was doing, Iruka eagerly buried his head in Kakashi’s crotch. In turn the Jounin closed his own mouth over the teacher’s quivering cock and began to suck. Stifled moans rang through the bedroom as the two men sixty-nined, and long fingers closed over Iruka’s ass to knead the cheeks with a tender ferocity as Kakashi sought to swallow the length of hard flesh in his mouth whole.

 

Iruka jerked and gasped around the cock in his mouth, and the vibration of this made Kakashi groan again and push his hips at his fiancé’s head. When a long finger wormed its way into his body, Iruka nearly choked around Kakashi’s erection. His own fingers found a pair of large balls and caressed them in time with his sucking. How long this continued neither of them could have said. But suddenly a fingertip found Iruka’s prostate, and he came with a cry. 

 

As his semen rushed down Kakashi’s throat, the Jounin found his own end when the mouth sucking him tightened almost to the point of pain and fingers squeezed his balls involuntarily. He gasped as he emptied himself down his fiancé’s throat, grateful that Iruka had learned how to both deep-throat and swallow in the last six months. 

 

They both shuddered and went still, recovering from their orgasms as witling cocks slowly slipped from two sets of mouths. Iruka panted, licking at his lips to get the last of Kakashi’s juices from them. He’d learned to like the taste over the last few months – and had been taught by a master all the tricks and techniques of how to give good head. He felt a tongue licking lazily over his balls and limp cock, and moaned softly. “Mmm,” Kakashi remarked. “That was good. But I still can’t wait to get in here…” he shoved his finger even further inside of Iruka’s body as he spoke, having never removed it even when he’d come. The teacher moaned for him, rocking his hips to get more. “Do you want me to get in there, Ruka?” he asked teasingly.

 

A small sound, then Iruka replied: “Yessss….” In a voice that made the Jounin feel a stirring of renewed life in his spent cock even though it had only been a few minutes. 

 

He went on tormenting Iruka’s sensitive cock and balls, while thrusting his finger in-and-out of the tight ass he wanted to plow. He was finally rewarded with a jerk and a twitch as the length of soft flesh began to harden, and he grinned in triumph. With a last lap at the pink tip, he moved away just enough to grab the lube sitting on the table next to the bed. They didn’t bother to put it in the drawer anymore, since they usually needed to grab it fast when they required it….which was often.

 

He turned back to the teacher, who was starting to return to life. Those deep rich brown eyes blinked up at him, and Kakashi smiled as he returned to his fiancé’s side. How he loved those eyes, especially when they were still slightly glazed like this. He rolled the still somewhat out-of-it teacher over onto his stomach. Iruka made a keening sound of anticipation, knowing what was coming. His hips lifted in invitation, because in spite of the fact that he still blushed whenever Kakashi did this to him, he also adored the feel of it. There was a chuckle against the skin of his back, then that tongue was licking and laving over his spine. 

 

The Jounin always teased him, taking his own sweet time to arrive at his intended destination. Iruka bit at his lip, wanting to beg but just too embarrassed to do so. To want to ask for what was coming…He just couldn’t do it. Then Kakashi’s voice was speaking to him against his skin: “So soft, so nice. You taste so good, Ruka.”

 

He licked at the top of a swelling buttock, and the teacher gasped. Hands caressed over the cheeks, kneading and cupping them. But the Jounin only laid a string of kisses over the very tops of Iruka’s buttocks, refusing to go any lower. After teasing circles were drawn on his skin, Iruka finally lost it. “Kakashi, please!” he cried desperately. 

 

“Please what?” that dark voice asked against his skin. “What do you want, Ruka?” 

 

“Oh, oh. P-Please…”

 

“Yes?” Kakashi was thoroughly enjoying himself. His fingers parted a sweet little pair of buttocks, and he blew on the crack softly. Iruka’s hips lifted wildly, offering that secretive little ring to him, and the Jounin grinned. “You still haven’t told me what you wanted?” he went on caressingly. 

 

Iruka squirmed, panting, totally needy and desperate now. “Kashi, oh Gods, please!” he wailed. He just couldn’t say it aloud yet. 

 

Taking pity on him at last, Kakashi decided to leave seeing if he could actually get Iruka to ask for it aloud for next time. He chuckled again as his mouth moved down into the musky cleft, his tongue darting out to trail down over the sensitive tissue until he ran it lovingly over the twitching ring of the teacher’s anus. A cry of pleasure half-choked off was his reward, and he began to lick at it strongly. Iruka bucked off the bed, gasping and moaning, pleasure swamping him. This felt better every time that Kakashi did it to him. That horrible, wonderful tongue was corkscrewing into his body, twisting and writhing like a serpent.

 

He screamed in pure ecstasy, not caring that the neighbors might be able to hear him. Although he wouldn’t be able to look them in the face later on…. Kakashi used his strong hands to hold the writhing body down as he continued to feast on that delicious little ring at his leisure. He loved it when Iruka became like this, a quivering mass turning to ooze under his skilled tongue. He slid a finger inside of the teacher’s body, moving it in-and-out in time with his licking. Iruka made wordless animal sounds of pleasure.

 

He was ready. Kakashi felt his own cock twitch as he shoved yet another finger into that tight space and withdrew his tongue at last. He had to get into his lovely Ruka soon or he was going to lose it. He twisted his fingers, making the teacher gasp helplessly. Then he turned the other man over on the bed, admiring the flush on those brown cheeks and the blank brown eyes. Using his thumbs, Kakashi widened the little hole and stretched it. Iruka lifted his hips and offered himself to his fiancé wordlessly. Kakashi grabbed the lube and slicked himself quickly. Iruka made a happy sound as the grey haired man slid between his legs. “Ruka,” he growled as he grabbed Iruka’s legs and lifted them. “I love you,” he went on as he slid smoothly inside in a single thrust. Iruka’s back arched off the bed, and he cried out.

 

“Ah,” he panted. “I-I love you too, Kashi,” at his words, the grey-haired Jounin groaned happily and began to thrust.

 

His hands held Iruka’s thighs as he looked down into that adorable face. So damn good! His fingers spasmed as he stroked. Iruka was moaning wildly, his hips moving in rhythm with each of Kakashi’s thrusts. They worked together to find pleasure, their eyes locked as they moved almost as one. Time seemed to slow for both of them, until the teacher could take no more. He reached down to grab his own cock, stroking it hard as Kakashi continued to grind into him. “Yeah, Ruka baby, touch yourself,” the grey-haired man gasped. “That is so hot!”

 

Iruka made a guttural sound as his fingers tightened on himself. His whole body arched as his muscles seemed to lock. He came with a last cry, his semen splattering out over his belly and his own hand. The sight of this did Kakashi in as well, and he plowed into that tight convulsing space a few more times before he came inside of his fiancé’s body in a rush. His hips stilled, and his head hung down a little as he recovered from the strength of his orgasm. 

 

Their panting breaths were loud in the quiet bedroom. Finally he slid out, to a moan of disappointment from Iruka. He moved over to the side and lay down next to his fiancé, pulling the brown-skinned man up against his bare chest. “Mmm,” he said as he nuzzled the teacher’s sweat matted hair happily. “That was a good homecoming. Don’t you think?”

 

The teacher made a small sound of agreement, still not quite coherent enough to speak properly yet. His hands rose to close over Kakashi’s on his chest. A short contented silence fell, but at last he sighed. “Kashi?” he said. 

 

“What is it, Ruka?” he heard his fiancé’s voice ask. 

 

“I was wondering…if we could invite Kei to our wedding?” the teacher asked hesitantly. 

 

Silence for a moment, a surprised silence. Then: “Of course we can, Ruka. You can invite whoever you want.”

 

He relaxed, feeling happier. But there was one other thing he wanted to ask the grey-haired man, something that might not make Kakashi happy. “Umm…about our honeymoon,” he began uncertainly. 

 

“What about it?” the Jounin asked lazily. “I…its about the hot springs,” Iruka began, then stopped. 

 

A chuckle sounded from behind him, taking him by surprise. “You want to tell me that you don’t want to go to the hot springs for our honeymoon because you don’t want to leave Kei alone for a week,” Kakashi said. “Am I right?”

 

“Yes,” Iruka replied. “He needs me right now, Kakashi. I don’t know what it would do to him to be left alone so soon after his parents died…”

 

“Okay,” Kakashi said calmly, taking him even further aback. 

 

“You don’t mind?” he said. “No. I figured that’s what you’d want to tell me when I saw how attached the boy has become to you. And you’re right – he needs you. We can go to the hot springs some other time – we’ll just spend our honeymoon here at home,” he added. 

 

Iruka rolled over, his eyes shining with wonder and love. “Kashi,” he breathed. “Thank you so much.”

 

Kakashi was much taken with the expression on that cute little brown face. “You’re welcome,” he replied. Then he winked. “You can make it up to me,” he added with a leer.

 

Iruka laughed, feeling relieved and very happy right now. “All right,” he agreed, “I’ll be glad to.”

 

 

 

The day of the wedding dawned clear and beautiful. The temple was crowded with people come to see Hatake Kakashi and Umino Iruka get married. All of their friends, teammates, and former or current pupils took up the benches in the temple. Of course there were no family members there, since neither man had any close relatives left. But really the people gathered there were as close as kin to Kakashi and Iruka. The Hokage and her friend and former teammate Jiriya sat side-by-side, partially so that the blonde could keep an eye on the dirty old monk to make sure that he didn’t try to feel up any of the pretty female wedding guests. Beside them on the front bench, Kei sat next to Naruto on one side and a matron holding his sister in her arms on the other. 

 

Iruka had decided to have the baby brought to the wedding to make Kei feel less nervous about being in such a large crowd of strangers. And of course the blonde fox boy could make anyone feel less nervous…he’d already jollied the younger boy into giggling over some bad jokes that Naruto knew, and Kei’s green-gold eyes were shining. It was clear that (like so many other people before him) the boy had succumbed to Naruto’s rowdy, boisterous charm. They’d probably end up being close friends. 

 

The fox boy had finally gotten over his shock that his former teacher and instructor were together. Iruka had had to be the one to tell the boy about him and Kakashi in the first place; his grey-haired lover had chickened out of that explanation. The fox boy had been stunned, since he assumed that everyone else in the world was like both him and Jiriya. Naruto adored girls, and was amazed to find out that two guys could like each other just as much.

 

But over the last six months he’d accepted their relationship, and when the teacher had told him that Kakashi had proposed he’d only grinned and teased Iruka a bit about his being the ‘wife’ in that relationship. Iruka had turned a bit red from his teasing, but had accepted it good-naturedly. Now Naruto was starting to get a little restless, his energetic nature demanding movement. Fortunately for him the priest appeared at the front of the temple in his ceremonial robes to begin the wedding. 

 

Kakashi and Iruka came out of a side door to stand in front of him, both men wearing their ninja uniforms (since neither had wanted to wear the formal robes that many people got married in. They were stiff, heavy, and covered in ugly embroidery). Kakashi took Iruka’s right hand as the priest blessed them and then began to pray over them. He asked the Gods to watch over the two men’s marriage, to make it fruitful (a wave of laughter broke out in the temple over that traditional line), and long-lasting. Then the priest gave Kakashi a lecture over the duties of a good husband (which made Naruto giggle over this confirmation of the fact that Iruka was most definitely the wife), and he ceremoniously bound their right hands together with a length of scarlet cloth. This symbolized the fact that they were tied together beyond any unbinding, and the priest raised their bound hands in the air to show to the people gathered in the temple.

 

A cheer went up as the priest declared them to be a married couple in the eyes of the Gods and of Konoha alike. The two ninja turned around, Kakashi beaming behind his mask while Iruka blushed slightly even as his dark brown eyes sparkled with joy. Afterward the couple walked down the aisle in the center of the temple so that everyone could see their bound hands and call congratulations to them. 

 

Iruka waved at Kei and Naruto, and the two boys waved back vigorously. Naruto whistled at them, making the teacher turn even redder. Asuma grinned and waggled his brows at Kakashi, which made the grey-haired Jounin laugh. Then they were out of the temple, and started their walk through Konoha to the hall where the reception would take place. Kakashi squeezed his new husband’s hand as they strolled along. “Glad that’s over,” he muttered. “Nerve-wracking. But now we’re married. How does it feel, Ruka?” he asked with a glance at his spouse.

 

The teacher smiled. “Wonderful,” he said simply, and Kakashi would have kissed him right in the street if their hands hadn’t still been bound together.

 

A contented silence fell between them for a moment, then the Jounin said: “Ruka? I’ve been thinking.” 

 

“Oh?” the teacher glanced at him. “About what?” 

 

“About us being married now. We’re a family, but a family missing one essential ingredient – children.” 

 

Iruka blinked in surprise. “Umm…yes. But I can’t really have children for you, you know…” he said, making Kakashi guffaw.

 

“No, I never would have guessed that,” he teased to make the teacher blush. He squeezed Iruka’s hand again. “Of course we can’t have kids biologically, but there is one other way…adoption.”

 

Iruka came to a halt in the street. “What are you saying, Kakashi?” he asked uncertainly. 

 

The grey-haired man looked at him steadily. “What I’m saying, my dearest Iruka, is that I think we should adopt Kei and Amai,” he replied gravely.

 

Stunned silence as the teacher gaped at him in shock. Kakashi grinned behind his mask. He still liked to take his darling Iruka by surprise sometimes. He was just too cute when he was baffled or flustered. “B-But…” Iruka stammered helplessly. “We can’t do that, Kakashi!”

 

“Why not?” the Jounin asked, sounding like he really didn’t see any objections. 

 

“Because! We just got married, we’re both too busy to take care of children, and are you really telling me you want a newborn around our house right now?!” Iruka yelped incredulously. 

 

“I have answers to all of those objections,” Kakashi replied calmly. “One,” he held up a long finger in the air, “We don’t have to adopt them right away; we still need to get to know them better, and they us, before we can become their parents. Which takes care of the third objection as well, since I’m figuring on at least a six month ‘getting to know each other’ period – which will give Amai time to grow out of the helpless newborn stage and more into the ‘cute but sleeps at night’ stage.” 

 

Iruka’s jaw unhinged as he stared at his husband. “You are completely awful, Kakashi,” he rasped. “Wanting to leave Amai at the Orphanage until she’s old enough for you to play with, and also old enough that you don’t have to take care of her constantly…” 

 

“But Ruka, that’s just what you were objecting to,” Kakashi pointed out smugly. “You said that we’re too busy to take care of kids all the time right now. And you’re right. We’re both going on missions, and you have your teaching as well. They’d be neglected if we brought them home now.” 

 

Iruka sighed deeply. “You are so awful,” he repeated. “But Kakashi – even after six months or so we’ll still be hideously busy – although perhaps not as much as now. How will we have time to take care of one child, let alone two?” 

 

“Easy,” the Jounin replied, that smug tone increasing. “We both throw in from our pay to hire a nanny to help take care of Kei and Amai when we’re gone. If we get an older woman with kids of her own, she could even take them overnight when we’re both away on missions. Or even when we just want some ‘private time’ alone together,” he added with a lascivious waggle of his eyebrows. 

 

The teacher slowly shut his mouth. “You’re serious,” he said in disbelief. “You’ve really thought this through.” 

 

Kakashi nodded. “I know how much you love children, Ruka,” he said quietly. “And now that you’re married to me you can’t have any of your own biologically. I don’t want to take that experience away from you totally because you fell in love with another man. Besides – having my own team of little horrors taught me that I really like kids in spite of myself. And I already like Kei a lot – he’s a tough boy, who’s gone through a lot of bad stuff at an early age. He deserves some happiness and love. So why shouldn’t we be the people to give that to him? He’s already bonded with you, after all. And Amai’s too cute for words. I think I’ll like having a daughter,” he mused, looking as pleased as a cat at this thought. Iruka felt his heart turning to mush in his chest. 

 

Kakashi was doing this for him. What more could any man ask for than that? “I don’t know what to say,” he began softly, his eyes shining, “Except that I love you, Hatake Kakashi. So very much,” his voice wavered a little bit with his emotions, and tears sparkled at the corners of those soft eyes.

 

Kakashi felt overwhelmed. He turned to use his free hand to span Iruka’s waist possessively. “And I love you, Ruka. I’m very happy to be here today – honestly, I never thought I’d get married until I met you. I never realized just how lonely I was until you stormed into my life the day of the Chuunin Exam. In ANBU you learn not to care about much. Emotions are for other people, not you. Especially love. It makes you too vulnerable to feel that for anyone. And even when I got out of ANBU I still thought that way – I held myself apart from everyone, used jokes and teasing to keep people at bay. I forgot what it was like to care about someone. How good it felt. Then that damned Naruto got to me, just like he does everybody – and I started to thaw. That process was speeded up when I came face-to-face with an angry little pheasant, ruffling his feathers at me because he was pissed at my decision to let my kids take the Chuunin Exams. Then I fell and I fell hard – and I’ll be grateful about that for the rest of my life, because there’s nothing quite as good as being able to love someone else. Or have then return that love. Thank you for giving me that experience, for loving me when I don’t deserve it, for everything,” he slid down his mask and kissed Iruka as the teacher finally let his tears of happiness glide uninhibitedly down his face.

 

“You know,” he murmured against his husband’s lips, “You still haven’t said what you think of my plan. Can you stand taking in two kids? Do you want to be a father? It’s up to you, Ruka.” 

 

“Silly man, of course I’d love to take in Kei and Amai,” the teacher replied. His free hand caressed the back of Kakashi’s neck lovingly. “And I think it’s a great plan. We’ll have those six months to get ready to be parents, and a nanny will help to cut our workload where the children are concerned down a good bit. Plus, it’ll give them a mother figure as well as two fathers. I think it will work.” 

 

“Of course it will work,” Kakashi replied confidently. “If you’re up to it then we’ll do it. But for now I think we should go to our reception, dance, have some cake, and just generally enjoy ourselves. We’ll tell Kei about the adoption in a couple of months – only after he’s really used to us both. For now we’ll just hang out at the Orphanage every day.”

Iruka nodded. “I agree,” he said. “Let’s go and enjoy ourselves, Kakashi. Before we start the honeymoon,” he added with a rather sly glance at his spouse.

 

The Jounin looked surprised at this uncharacteristic behavior on the part of the rather shy teacher, but then his dark-grey eye began to glow with alight that made Iruka shiver to see it. “Yes, our honeymoon,” he said in a tone of voice that seemed to caress the teacher’s skin. “Mmm. I have some surprises for you, Ruka. I can’t wait to show them to you.” He purred.

 

Iruka felt his breath catch. Suddenly he didn’t care in the least about the reception. Seeing the flush that was rising in his cheeks, Kakashi groaned. “Damn it, Ruka! Are you sure we have to go to this thing?”

 

“E-Everyone will be expecting us,” Iruka pointed out breathlessly.

 

Kakashi said a bad word under his breath. “Fine, we’ll go. But only for an hour, okay? Then we go home to start the honeymoon.” Iruka nodded mutely, and the Jounin grabbed his bound hand firmly and towed him away down the street.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

The reception was already getting a little rowdy when the main guests walked in the door. Jiriya was dipping into the spiked punch, while Tsunade scowled at him from nearby. Not that she wasn’t drinking a cup of it too, but the old priest was already beginning to eye the pretty young girls appreciatively. He’d be sliding through the crowds copping a feel in no time. Naruto, Konohamaru, Chouji and Kiba were at the buffet, gorging themselves happily. Ten Ten was dancing with her  
teammate Neji, while Lee was looking wistfully at Sakura who was gossiping with Ino nearby. Hinata was shyly hovering near the buffet table, still doing her inevitable Naruto watching. Asuma was talking to Kurenai, while Shino was standing by himself watching people dispassionately from behind his sunglasses. Several of Iruka’s fellow teachers were talking together in a lively group. 

 

Greetings were called to the newly-married couple from all sides as they walked in the place. Kakashi’s rival and (sort-of) friend Maito Gai came up to them to shake the Jounin’s hand as he declared heartily: “This is such a great day! You two make an excellent couple, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei. I can only hope that one day I, too, will meet someone who will make me feel the same way!” His chest swelled as he declared this, and Iruka was hard pressed not to laugh. 

 

Kakashi said drolly: “I’m sure you will, Gai-sensei. You simply have to wait until he or she gets out of the asylum.” 

 

This was too much for the teacher; he burst into laughter as Gai eyed Kakashi in a decided huff. He set his hands on his green-jumpsuited hips. “Really, Kakashi-sensei, your sense of humor…” he said chidingly. 

 

“My sense of humor? Who says I was kidding?” Kakashi replied innocently, finishing his new husband off altogether. 

 

Gai looked like a puffer fish now, completely outraged. The Jounin chucked and went on: “Excuse us, Gai-sensei; I’m going to dance with Iruka now.” 

 

He pulled his spouse away, making the teacher shake his head. “Really, Kakashi, that was mean…” he whispered as they headed for the dance floor. 

 

“I know,” Kakashi replied. “But I just couldn’t help myself,” he used a kunai to cut through the red silk so that he could sweep his spouse up in his arms and onto the dance floor.

 

 

 

Iruka sat on the bench in front of the Orphanage and watched in pleasure as Kei played with Naruto. The fox boy had taken a liking to the orphan (not surprisingly) and had been coming around after his training sessions every day to play with the younger boy. Iruka himself had gone back to teaching, since him and Kakashi’s honeymoon week was over. He sighed for the loss of free time, although he loved his children and wouldn’t trade teaching for anything else. But he came every day as soon as he got off of work to see Kei and Amai. And today his husband had joined him, for Kakashi was between missions at the moment.

 

The grey-haired Jounin was cooing over the baby again, a thing that was still as astonishing to the teacher as it had been that first day. He just found it very hard to believe that Kakashi liked babies. Although he suspected that if he’d had to take care of her all the time, Kakashi wouldn’t like Amai at all… His lips twitched at this thought. It was a really good idea of Kakashi’s that they hire a nanny to help them take care of the children, especially Amai. Kei was old enough for the Jounin to do things with, but an infant wasn’t quite as interesting. And was a lot more work, too. Both of them would be too busy, even in six months time, to give the children the kind of care and attention they required by themselves. But they’d certainly have enough love for them both. 

 

Iruka already adored the children who would eventually be his and Kakashi’s, and his husband was growing closer to them as well. By the time they were ready to take Kei and Amai home, all of them would be used to each other so the transition wouldn’t be as hard. He’d told the Head Matron of the Orphanage that he and Kakashi would eventually be adopting the two newest orphans. She’d been delighted, for the children from their Orphanage seldom found new homes. Neither he nor Kakashi had told Kei yet, though; they wanted the boy to settle in and get used to Konoha, and they also wanted his grief over his parents to fade a bit before they told him that he’d have a new family. For now they were just his friends, which was all he needed at the moment. 

 

And it seemed to be helping – he was laughing with Naruto at the moment, looking less like a prematurely-aged little man and more like the little boy he was. Iruka smiled gently at this scene, pleasure written on his face.

 

Kakashi glanced over at his husband, loving that expression on the teacher’s face. When those dark-brown eyes went soft like that it made him want to drag his spouse home and molest him for hours. Which was just what he’d do as soon as they were done with their daily visit here. He looked back down at the baby, who’d fallen asleep in his arms. She was unutterably cute – when she wasn’t screaming, and her diaper didn’t need changing. His mouth crooked under his mask at this thought. He was self-aware enough to know that he was too lazy to want to care for a small, helpless infant full-time. He’d much rather pay for a nanny – the money expenditure was definitely worth it. 

 

He rocked her a bit, feeling quite satisfied with the way things were going. Seven months ago he’d been a lonely man living by himself and with few close friends; now he was a happily-married one, who would soon have a real family again. And he owed all of it to the love of the man sitting beside him on the bench. Lucky bastard that he was - he’d never take what he had for granted.

 

A matron emerged from the building and came over to the two ninja. “Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei,” she said quietly to them. The two men looked at her questioningly. “I was going through Kei’s backpack looking for dirty clothes to wash, and I found this buried under a shirt. I think it might be important,” she handed the book to Kakashi as she deftly took the sleeping Amai from him. “I’ll put her down in her cradle,” she said, leaving them.

 

Iruka scooched over on the bench to peer at the leather-covered book that Kakashi was holding. “What is it?” he asked curiously. 

 

“Let’s see,” the grey-haired man opened the book and stared at the first page. It was covered with neatly written-in figures and names. “It’s a ledger of some kind,” he remarked. “It doesn’t look like anything too exciting, mostly rice yields and records of the production of the Lord’s smithies and dairy farms and whatnot,” he flipped through the pages, frowning. “Why would this be in Kei’s pack? I really don’t….” he stopped as something on one of the pages made his eyes go wide. “Shit!” he hissed, and for once Iruka didn’t chide him for swearing in front of the children.

 

“What is it?” the teacher asked urgently.

 

Silently Kakashi handed him the book. Iruka looked at the page and at first saw nothing. But then he realized just what it was that his husband had seen that had caused that reaction. His mouth gaped open as he took in a column halfway down the page. It was a record of the Lord’s smithy production – and it was ten times the normal output of weapons. It listed in neat lines the fact that the Lord had been stockpiling swords and other armor in massive quantities. Moreover, his farms were being  
driven to produce lots of food – enough to feed an entire army. And that was just what he’d been amassing; a list of men hired was on the next page. There were hundreds of them. Enough….enough that he could move against the Daimyo of Grass Country and maybe even overthrow him.

 

Iruka gasped. “Is this what I think it is?!” he asked his husband. 

 

Kakashi nodded. “Yes. It’s a record of Lord Harish’s secret plan to lead a revolt against the Daimyo and overthrow him. No wonder those ninja were sent after Kei’s father - he would have been desperate to get this back. It lists his treason. He’ll be executed for this.” 

 

Iruka grimaced, but at the same time said stoutly: “That will be a deserved punishment. Kei’s parents died because of that man’s overweening ambition. They were obviously good people, who didn’t deserve what happened to them. Kei’s father was honorable enough that when he discovered his Lord’s treachery he immediately ran so that he could warn the Daimyo of the man’s intent. He was a good man. Kei can be very proud of him.” 

 

“Yeah,” Kakashi rose to his feet. “I’ll take this to Tsunade-sama. Most likely she’ll have me to take this to court of the Daimyo of Grass Country right away. So if I don’t see you for a few days….” 

 

“I’ll be here when you get back,” the teacher replied simply. “I love you, Kashi. Be careful.” 

 

His spouse nodded and departed swiftly with the incriminating book. Iruka took a deep breath as he glanced over at Kei. The small boy had no idea what he’d been carrying - or that he’d foiled the attempts of a very bad man to get that precious ledger back. But one day he’d tell Kei all about it, so that the boy would know what kind of person his father had been. For now, the person responsible for the deaths of Kei and Amai’s parents would get what he deserved. It looked like there was justice in the world after all. 

 

 

Iruka was woken from sleep by a kiss on his mouth. His eyes flew open, and he saw the shadowy face of his new husband hovering over him. The teacher felt relief course through him as he smiled. It had been five days since Kakashi had departed with the ledger for the court of the Daimyo of Grass Country. While he’d tried not to worry, since Kakashi was a skilled ninja who’d been on many dangerous missions, after the first few days he’d been unable to suppress his anxiety entirely. Besides, he’d been lonely as well. He didn’t like sleeping alone in their big bed. 

 

“Hey, Ruka,” the Jounin said. “Sorry to wake you, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve wanted to see your eyes for days now,” he ran a finger under one of those dark brown robs, which had lit up in that special way when Iruka had seen him.

 

“Kashi. I’m so glad you’re home. How did it go?” Iruka asked as he sat up.

 

Kakashi sat down next to him and sighed. “I delivered the ledger, and troops were marching from the capitol toward Lord Harish’s holdings when I left. I think we can pretty much assume the outcome, since he’ll be taken by surprise. His head will be on a spike any time now.” 

 

Iruka ran a hand over his unbound hair. “While I feel that this is deserved, at the same time…”

 

Kakashi laughed quietly. “That’s my Ruka. Soft-hearted and sweet,” he said this admiringly, and the teacher blushed slightly and gave him a chiding look.

 

He grinned as he reached out to gather his husband up in his arms. “If you’re not too sleepy, can we make up for lost time?” he asked in a purring voice. Iruka drew in a sharp breath. 

 

“I’m not THAT sleepy,” he remarked, and the Jounin laughed throatily.

 

“Great,” he said, then he was descending atop Iruka and their mouths met in a long, deep kiss. 

 

 

Seven Months Later: Iruka walked down the street with his son Kei holding onto his hand. The boy was grinning, looking forward to the ice cream that the teacher had promised him. Their nanny walked on his other side, a comfortably matronly woman with three children of her own. She cooked nourishing meals, capably took care of Amai, and hugged Kei often. The boy was already in her thrall, occasionally slipping up and calling her ‘Mom.’ She allowed this, and never chastised him for his mistake. She seemed to consider Kei and Amai to be her children as well as her three biological ones anyway. 

 

Kakashi was on Iruka’s other side, carrying Amai in his arms. The baby was looking around with bright-eyed interest at the people on the streets. Her eyes had turned to a slightly more emerald color than Kei’s, and the soft hair atop her head was a bit more golden. She was a chubby, happy creature, who cooed and smiled often. Her traumatic entrance into the world didn’t seem to have affected her at all.

 

The Jounin laughed as she patted at his masked face with her tiny fingers, babbling happily. His visible eye crinkled at the corners. Amai loved all of the people in her small circle, but she clearly adored Kakashi. He returned this adoration, and the baby clearly had him wound around her tiny fingers. Kei was closer to Iruka than Kakashi, so it evened out in the long run. “Can I get a raspberry ice cream, Iruka-sensei?” Kei asked hopefully.

 

The teacher smiled down at him. “Of course you can. I promised you that you could get whatever flavor you wanted.”

 

The boy beamed, looking ahead in anticipation toward the ice cream stand ahead of them. Iruka was glad to see him looking so happy; Kei was still prone to nightmares and bouts of depression, and probably would be for years to come. He knew they had to be patient with the traumatized boy. And he was prepared to be for as long as it took for Kei to recover at least partially. Iruka knew well enough that you never completely got over such a thing; he still mourned his own parents a bit even now. Kei would always have an empty place inside of him where his parents had been.

 

They arrived at the stand. Iruka bought Kei his raspberry ice cream, and Kakashi bought Amai a little vanilla soft cone even though the teacher gave him a disproving look. He only grinned as he capably fed the baby small bites of the ice cream, and Iruka rolled his eyes to the heavens. 

 

Finally, the Jounin handed the baby to their nanny and spoke to the ice cream vendor once again. He turned away with a popsicle in his hand, the kind that broke in two. He held it out to Iruka. “Half-and-half,” he said with a chuckle. “Just like always, Ruka my love.” 

 

The teacher smiled in spite of himself, breaking the popsicle neatly in two and taking his own half so that he could suck on it. The little family enjoyed both the soft early summer day, and their ice cream alike. Life, Iruka mused to himself as he licked at his popsicle, wasn’t perfect right now. But in his opinion it was as close as a human could possibly get.

The End

A/N: Now that the happily ever after is here, how about a story about Gaara/Lee? Anybody up for that? Let me know in the comments, please. -DL


End file.
